What exactly is the iPod shuffle about. It is about extending into the realm of the flash based players while making absolutely sure that it does not cannibalize real iPod sales. Where the iPod mini bested the full scale iPod in every way but storage capacity, the iPod shuffle is either a teaser or supplement to the iPod experience. It is as much an iPod accessory as it is an iPod.
What exactly is the iPod shuffle about. It is about extending into the realm of the flash based players while making absolutely sure that it does not cannibalize real iPod sales. Where the iPod mini bested the full scale iPod in every way but storage capacity, the iPod shuffle is either a teaser or supplement to the iPod experience. It is as much an iPod accessory as it is an iPod. It could also serve as a low cost introduction to Apple and the iTunes experience for kids. It can help sell songs from the store and get them hooked on iTunes without the big investment in a real iPod. If you already have the big gun iPod photo, what the heck, get a shuffle. If there was no iTunes software, music store or real iPods, this product would be TERRIBLE. What makes the shuffle different is that it has the entire Apple digital music experience to back it up for just a $100 entry fee.
I would like to see a pair of white headphones with a USB jack to plug in a shuffle. Certainly some sort of dangly clip thing for clipping it anywhere on your clothing or bag. An earring attachment? Oh, and by the way, I wonder what happens when you plug a shuffle into an Airport Express?
The real news for the iPod at MacWorld is cars, cars and more cars. These solutions only work with the iPod and this is the next big market for digital compressed music. It started with music on computers – way geeky. Burning disks, then the portable players. Cars rolling off the assembly line with proprietary iPod connectors in the glove box or console is a total nightmare for the other manufacturers of digital players and even the shuffle does not cut it in these cars.
The final battleground is home entertainment and the Mac mini should help, but it is not really a media PC. This is where Apple needs to get moving. The Airport Express is not enough.
